Games › Economy › Economy + Rome
Should I ship a Roman Economy game?
Economy + Rome
Only 11 developers shipped a Roman Economy game in the last 2 years, too few for firm odds: the middle one made est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.; the top game by est. revenue, Anno 117: Pax Romana, made about est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.. 9 more are announced.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 5 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $17k, ×27 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $3.6k; 1 in 20 cleared $21M, ×34819 the market median. Revenue is down 55% on the market; 9 games are announced against 7 developers who shipped in the last year.
not enough cohorts to draw
| Bottom 30% | $3.6k (exactly $3,596) |
|---|---|
| Median | $17k (exactly $16,790) |
| Top 25% | $160k (exactly $159,520) |
| Top 5% | $22M (exactly $21,866,355) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 11 |
| Released games | 29 |
| Announced | 9 |
| Effort | 5 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Medium |
| Typical price | $15.99 |
momentum: how a niche's revenue percentiles and developer count moved between two equal, adjacent periods, divided by the market's own move. See method., 12 months: revenue down 55% on the market, supply 75% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 10%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is medium: the lowest rating among its tags.
What it takes
- Effort
- 5 / 10 · real systems or entry 3D
- Systems
- Economy
- Price point
- $15.99 typical
Why players buy here
The top 10 games average 70% positive over 13,699 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $3.6k. 9 games are announced against 7 developers who shipped in the last year.
Adjacent niches
Economy with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.
- + Job SimulatorFair
- + Football (Soccer)Fair
- + ScienceFair
- + MiningFair
- + LootFair
- + CollectathonFair
- + God GameFair
- + Auto BattlerFair
- + IdlerFair
- + IncrementalFair
- + ArcadeFair
- + Strategy RPGFair
Comparable games
Imperator: Rome 2019 · $23M 
Anno 117: Pax Romana 2025 · $22M 
Citadelum 2024 · $753k 
Ancient Wars: Sparta Definitive Edition 2022 · EA · $272k 
Caesar™ IV 2016 · $246k | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Imperator: Rome | older | $39.99 | 19,492 65% | 585k | $23M (exactly $23,384,552) | Paradox Development Studio |
| | Anno 117: Pax Romana | $59.99 | 12,150 69% | 365k | $22M (exactly $21,866,355) | Ubisoft Mainz | |
| | Citadelum | $24.99 | 1,005 83% | 30k | $753k (exactly $753,448) | Abylight Barcelona | |
| | Ancient Wars: Sparta Definitive Edition | · EA older | $19.99 | 453 74% | 14k | $272k (exactly $271,664) | JOTASOFT STUDIOS |
| | Caesar™ IV | older | $9.99 | 821 71% | 25k | $246k (exactly $246,054) | Tilted Mill Entertainment, Inc. |
 | Ludus | older | $9.99 | 794 71% | 24k | $238k (exactly $237,962) | Cheesecake Dev |
 | Pompeii: The Legacy | $19.99 | 266 80% | 8.0k | $160k (exactly $159,520) | Siscia Games | |
 | Orbi Universo | older | $19.99 | 195 76% | 5.9k | $117k (exactly $116,941) | Orbi Universo Team |
 | Concordia: Digital Edition | older | $19.99 | 167 83% | 5.0k | $100k (exactly $100,150) | Acram Digital |
 | Fall of an Empire | $29.99 | 80 67% | 2.4k | $72k (exactly $71,976) | JG Games | |
 | Orbi Universo II | $24.99 | 85 75% | 2.6k | $64k (exactly $63,724) | Orbi Universo Team | |
 | Explorers of Esmar | · EA | $15.99 | 35 85% | 1.1k | $17k (exactly $16,790) | Tipri Games |
 | Nova Patria | $11.99 | 22 100% | 660 | $7.9k (exactly $7,913) | Sower Interactive | |
 | CRIXUS: Life of free Gladiator | $7.99 | 15 46% | 450 | $3.6k (exactly $3,596) | Waseku | |
 | Grow Empire: Rome | $3.99 | 28 64% | 840 | $3.4k (exactly $3,352) | Games Station | |
 | Restitutor: Empire Restored | · EA | $5.99 | 13 84% | 390 | $2.3k (exactly $2,336) | FishPond |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
Your address goes to Buttondown, which sends the letter, and nowhere else. Every issue has an unsubscribe link. No tracking beyond the open count Buttondown keeps.